Reflections of a Community Partner on the MLK Day of Service

This year marks PAYETTE’s seventh annual MLK Day of Service (MLK DoS). Looking back, we reflected on what has made this day so successful and impactful to us and our Community Partners. It became clear to us that, like our traditional projects, long-standing relationships and engaged clients are what really bring a project to life. Part of what makes the MLK DoS so effective is the consistent cultivation of relationships throughout the year, enabling the charrette day to be uniquely focused on the efforts of a group of creatives utilizing our design expertise to deliver high quality work.

Recently we spoke with Ben Lamb of North Adams, a repeat Community Partner with whom we have established an ongoing relationship. Ben has participated in a total of 5 MLK DoS events, in addition to leading multiple organizations in his community and working full time at his day job. Below we have highlighted a few insights from our recent conversation with Ben, including his perspective as a Community Partner during the Day of Service and some of the most impactful moments.

The Perspective of a Community Partner

The MLK DoS program enables citizen-led community-based groups to organize their ideas into tangible objectives. Ben has used the images created during the MLK DoS for other grants and applications to help convey his organization’s goals. He notes our RFP release and application deadline in his calendar every fall, viewing it as an opportunity to think critically about projects for the upcoming year.

We design and connect with our Community Partners the same way we would on a traditional project, not letting the distance between ourselves and the project site prevent a successful collaboration. Having worked together on 5 projects, we have had the pleasure of driving out to North Adams, gaining a better understanding of the community. The North Adams team has also come to our office on the Day of Service, working together to design and connect.

PAYETTE x North Adams Collaboration

As a community, North Adams is supported by many different organizations to make their streets safer, more beautiful and offer community programming. Ben is a key player in making some of these dreams a reality. Throughout our partnership, PAYETTE has been involved with a public path redesign, brainstorming how to make a highway overpass more appealing to pedestrians. We have also provided visioning for a community center in the heart of the town.

Our first project together focused on a foot path connecting an elementary school to the local YMCA. The design team reimagined a place for safe travel between the two buildings that encompassed hands-on learning about local flora and fauna. Moments to get lost and appreciate the environment, as well as a direct route to provide quick access to and from. Ben explained that the outcomes of that charrette day were beautiful and much appreciated, but that it takes time to realize the efforts in the community. For this project, its impact was more about sharing the big idea – that of a safe, welcoming place for North Adams. A few years later a version of this path was implemented, improving sidewalks on the intended site. Though a lighter touch than previously designed, Ben noted the original intent was intact with these upgrades, linking two major community spaces.

Other projects are ongoing and Ben still hopes to one day implement them in his community. During our conversations, we discussed the obstacles that come with some of these projects, such as global pandemics, changes in civic leadership and of course funding. For example, we collaborated with Ben and MASS MoCA on the Overpass Underway project and a version of the work we delivered was awarded funds to proceed. Unfortunately, this was in 2020 when the focus was on keeping the community safe and businesses afloat during the pandemic. Circumstances like this are not uncommon. We were happy to be a part of the brainstorming and ideation phase and welcome future partnerships if and when the project starts up again.

The last two years, we partnered with Ben and the Northern Berkshire Community Coalition (nbCC) to create visuals and plans of a future community center and central hub for social services. Year one was led by efforts to obtain a building. Year two leapt off nbCC’s successful efforts to purchase the building and brought more focus to the interior, more specifically to create graphics for fundraising. Ben happily shared with us that today, the coalition was able to hire a firm for schematic design and they are now in the process of raising capital for renovations. PAYETTE is proud to be a part of the story of this building and this organization. Not every project becomes a reality or moves forward as we designed it, but that is not our goal. We hope that providing design services and creating clear and beautiful graphics, our Community Partners have something tangible to bring back to their organizations which will help bring their visions to life in a positive way.

Final Remarks

At the end of our conversation with Ben, we discussed how PAYETTE could have the biggest impact on our Community Partners within the brief time frame of the project. We asked how we could be most useful for organizations like his, what services would be most helpful to provide, and what kinds of deliverables he was interested in. What struck us was Ben’s response:  This is a really valuable opportunity [for nonprofit organizations] … It’s not just about the money and not being able to afford design services. It’s really about validation. To have an organization that has no skin in the game see the value in the work. Working with PAYETTE during the project’s inspiration and validation in a way that helps small nonprofits move forward, more than the design services or work produced.